Gaza fears isolation as Egypt calls Hamas 'terrorist' group

Dec. 12, 2014: Top Palestinian Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh holds a dove sprayed green, the color of Hamas, before he releases it during a rally to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Hamas militant group, at the main road in Jebaliya, the northern Gaza Strip. (AP)

Dec. 4, 2014: Members of the Palestinian Hamas security forces participate in their graduation ceremony at the fisherman's port in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip. (AP)

Dec. 14, 2014: Masked Palestinian Hamas gunmen display their military skills during a rally to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the Hamas militant group, in Gaza City, Gaza. (AP)

CAIRO – Gaza residents said Sunday they fear growing isolation and more hardships after an Egyptian court declared the territory's ruling Hamas a terrorist organization. Some blamed the Islamic militant Hamas while others said Egypt is being unreasonable.

Hamas called for protests against the Egyptian government and issued angry statements, but did not offer a way out of the crisis. Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas spokesman, alleged Sunday that Egypt has become a "direct agent" of Israeli interests.

Hamas seized Gaza by force in 2007, and the territory's borders have been largely sealed by Israel and Egypt since then. Egypt intensified the blockade after its military toppled a Hamas-friendly government in Cairo in 2013.

In recent months, Egyptian soldiers have destroyed virtually all smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. In October, they began razing parts of the Egyptian town of Rafah on the border with Gaza. Residents near the border said homes are still being dynamited or bulldozed at a steady pace, with the latest explosion heard Sunday afternoon.

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Gaza's main gateway to the world, mostly has been closed since October. This year, it was only open for two days, leaving thousands unable to get out of the territory, including Muslim pilgrims and students at foreign universities. The tunnel closures have put an end to the smuggling of cheap fuel and cement from Egypt, further hurting a crippled Gaza economy and driving up unemployment. Cigarette prices have tripled.

Some in Gaza blamed Hamas, saying it's time the militant group to moderate or hand over control to the Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, from whom it seized Gaza.

"Hamas is taking us hostage for the sake of its own interest," university graduate Ahmed Tiri said. Hamas rules Gaza with an iron grip, and such open criticism is relatively rare.

Last year, Abbas and Hamas had reached a deal under which an Abbas-led government of experts would oversee reconstruction of Gaza following the devastating 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. However, the agreement was never implemented, with both sides unwilling to compromise.

Walid Abu Hassouna, a barber, said he expects Egypt to tighten the closure of Gaza. "If they could deprive us of the air we breathe, they would do it," he said.

Some said Hamas should try to negotiate with Egypt to improve the lives of Gaza's 1.8 million people.

Hamas was inflexible for too long and must now seek Arab mediators to appeal to Egypt, Gaza analyst Akram Attallah said.

"Hamas did not move. It was like waiting for something from the heavens to resolve the issue," he said. He said the group also made a mistake by acting as a mouthpiece of the Brotherhood.

"Gaza people are suffering and this will complicate the situation," Attallah said.